You are here

Update: U.S. Horse Slaughter on Hold…for Now

We recently told you that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved applications for horse slaughter inspections at Valley Meat Company LLC in Roswell, New Mexico, and Responsible Transportation in Sigourney, Iowa. The USDA is likely to also grant horse slaughter inspections at Rains Natural Meats plant in Gallatin, Missouri, in the coming days.

This week we learned that no horse slaughter plants will be granted inspections until at least July 29 as a result of a lawsuit filed against the USDA by several animal welfare organizations.

This lawsuit buys critical time for our horses. The Agriculture Appropriations bills, which contain language that would prevent horse slaughter in the U.S., are expected to pass in the coming months. We are seeing building momentum for the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act, which would prevent the slaughter of horses in the U.S., end the current export of American horses for slaughter abroad and protect consumers from unknowingly ingesting toxic horse meat.

Comments

Plain text

Comments

Sending horses to slaughter does not stop horses from being abandoned or maltreated. Hoarders have no intention of sending them to slaughter. Horses are not raised for food. When the slaughter plants were open in the US, the treatment was egregious. The plants have been cited often in the past. The slaughter of horses has never been humane. Stop over breeding when the market is flat-especially AQHA, APHA, and the thoroughbred industry. The AQHA could singlehandedly supply the entire slaughter pipeline. We have adopted an off track thoroughbred who won every race, but broke his knee during a race at age 3. I have several friends and family members that are horse owners/breeders and have rescued horses on their way to slaughter. You need to get real and accept the fact the your way of life and horse ownership is changing.

Please FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THE UNWANTED HORSES AND STOP INDISCRIMINATE BACKYARD BREEDING, MAKE REGISTRIES RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIRS AND TELL THE BLM TO LEAVE THE WILD HORSES ALONE AND LEAVE THEM THEIR LAND AND QUIT PUTTING MORE ON THE MARKET!!!! YOU CANNOT ADDRESS THE SLAUGHTER ISSUE WITHOUT ALSO ADDRESSING THE ABOVE!

Exactly Wiley Coyote. I struggle to keep all of mine in this economy and its really tough when the humane options are so expensive. I have never and will never send any of mine to slaughter but its still really, really tough when you have to pay so much when your live ones need that money!

If you can't afford a horse, you shouldn't get one. I have four and they are very expensive. Reopening slaughter houses will line the pockets of a very small faction of people. The rest of us will have to foot the bill for USDA inspections of horse meat. The USDA said that it will take $400,000.00 per slaughter house to fund USDA inspections. If we have three working horse slaughter plants in this country, that's 12 million in federal tax dollars going to a foreign industry that many of us strongly oppose. Yet another reason I oppose horse slaughter.

Amen Deedie! I strongly appose horse slaughter & am outraged that we the tax payers pay for this!!! It absolutely sickens me. We must stop this insanity! What can we do aside from write our congressmen?

I agree wholeheartedly. Horses are expensive to own. If you can't afford to euthanize and dispose of your horse at the end of his life, then you can't afford to own a horse. It costs less than one year of horse ownership. All our family horses that have passed are buried on family property. Stop over breeding by backyard and commercial breeders. There needs to be a fee included in breeding licenses to help cover the cost of caring horses for 20-30+ years.

If this bill would end transport of horses to other countries (like Mexico and Canada) then I'm all for it. If all it does is stop the slaughter in the US, then we're doing our horses immeasurable harm because 1) they will be slaughtered in Mexico and Canada and 2) the transport and handling there is way, way worse than what it would be in this country. Watch U-Tube and see what goes on in Mexico - it's gruesome!

If you look at photos and videos on you tube of slaughter plants in the US, they were not much different. Horses will still have to travel a long distance in some cases. Not everyone will live near the slaughter plant. (Who would want to?) The end result is still the same. Who will work at the horse slaughter plants in America? When slaughter was legal in the US before, illegal Mexicans worked there. Few people want to work in a horse slaughter plant. It's something you would leave off of a resume.